TV ratings: Only football outscores ‘The Walking Dead’

Four weeks into the broadcast season, NBC stays atop the ratings, with “Sunday Night Football” once again ranking first in the coveted 18-49 demographic. But, despite sloughing 1.4 million viewers, AMC’s “The Walking Dead” is the number-one program of the season among 18-49 adults outside of sports.

“Sunday Night Football,” which also topped Ad Age’s list of priciest ad rates, “The Voice” and presidential debate analysis powered NBC to first place among adults 18-49 with a 2.6 rating average last week, according to TVbytheNumbers.

CBS, whose “Big Bang Theory” rose to third among 18-49 adults, was second with 2.5, followed by ABC with 2.1, Fox with 1.6, Univision with 1.5 and the CW with 0.7.

However, CBS, whose “60 Minutes” interview with Steven Spielberg vaulted into the top 10, attracted the most total viewers, averaging 10.3 million.

ABC was second with 8.0 million, followed by NBC with 7.5 million, Fox with 5.5 million, Univision with 3.6 million and the CW with 1.8 million.

With four straight weeks on the top of the heap, NBC is leading all broadcast networks this season with a 3.1 average 18-49 rating, according to TVbytheNumbers. That’s up half a point from last season.

None of the Peacock’s rivals are faring as well, however: CBS is averaging 2.7, down 0.6; Fox and ABC are tied with 2.5, down 0.8 and 0.3 respectively; Univision is averaging 1.5, down 0.1; and the CW is averaging 0.6, down 0.3. Note, however, that the CW’s season didn’t start at the same time as the other networks, and the channel ran a week or more of repeats and summer shows before launching its premieres.

In total viewers, CBS is leading with an average 11.3 million, followed by ABC with 8.8 million, NBC with 8.4 million, Fox with 6.5 million, Univision with 3.6 million and the CW with 1.4 million.

Meanwhile, on basic cable’s AMC, “The Walking Dead” drew 9.5 million total viewers to its second episode on Sunday night, per the Hollywood Reporter. That’s down from the season three premiere’s record-breaking 10.9 million last week, but with 6.5 million in the 18-49 demographic for a 5.1 rating, that’s still better than any broadcast show last week except “Sunday Night Football.”

Add in those who caught the episode when it replayed at 10 p.m. or midnight, and the show about a zombie apocalypse attracted 14 million total viewers.

AMC went back on the air on the Dish Network on Sunday, but, as Deadline observes, that may have been too late to make a real difference in last week’s ratings. As Dish subscribers catch up on the show, however, “The Walking Dead” might see a ratings bump next weekend.

Here are the top 10 shows for the week ended Oct. 21, 2012, in the 18-49 demographic according to Nielsen TV Ratings, as reported by TVbytheNumbers: